APA Style Reference Page Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper/speech. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text. Your references should begin on a separate page from the text of the speech outline under the label References (with no quotation marks, underlining, etc.), centered at the top of the page. It should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay. Basic Rules
Authors' names are inverted (last name first); give the last name and initials for all authors of a particular work unless the work has more than six authors. If the work has more than six authors, list the first six authors and then use et al. after the sixth author's name to indicate the rest of the authors.
Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last names of the first author of each work.
If you have more than one article by the same author(s), single-author references or multiple-author references with the exact same authors in the exact same order are listed in order by the year of publication, starting with the earliest.
For example:
Berndt, T. J. (1996). Exploring the effects of friendship quality on social development. In W. M. Bukowski, A. F. Newcomb, & W. W. Hartup, (Eds.), The company they keep: Friendship in childhood and adolescence. (pp. 346-365). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social development. CurrentDirections in Psychological Science, 11, 7-10. Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1994). Mood management across affective states: The hedonic contingency hypothesis. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 66, 1034-1048. Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1995). Flexible correction processes in social judgment: The role of naive theories in corrections for perceived bias. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology,68, 36-51.
When an author appears both as a sole author and, in another citation, as the first author of a group, list the one-author entries first.
For example:
Berndt, T. J. (1999). Friends' influence on students' adjustment to school. Educational Psychologist, 34, 15-28. Berndt, T. J., & Keefe, K. (1995). Friends' influence on adolescents' adjustment to school. Child Development, 66, 1312-1329.
References that have the same first author and different second and/or third authors are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the second author, or the last name of the third if the first and second authors are the same.
For example:
Wegener, D. T., Kerr, N. L., Fleming, M. A., & Petty, R. E. (2000). Flexible corrections of juror judgments: Implications for jury instructions. Psychology, Public Policy, & Law, 6, 629-654. Wegener, D. T., Petty, R. E., & Klein, D. J. (1994). Effects of mood on high elaboration attitude change: The mediating role of likelihood judgments. European Journal of Social Psychology, 24, 25-43.
If you are using more than one reference by the same author (or the same group of authors listed in the same order) published in the same year, organize them in the reference list alphabetically by the title of the article or chapter. Then assign letter suffixes to the year.
For example:
Berndt, T. J. (1981a). Age changes and changes over time in prosocial intentions and behavior between friends. Developmental Psychology, 17, 408-416. Berndt, T. J. (1981b). Effects of friendship on prosocial intentions and behavior. Child Development, 52, 636-643.
When referring to these publications in your paper, use the letter suffixes with the year so that the reader knows which reference you are referring to. For example: "Several studies (Berndt, 1981a, 1981b) have shown that..."
Use "&" instead of "and" when listing multiple authors of a single work.
If no author is given for a particular source, begin with and alphabetize by using the title of the work, which will be listed in place of the author, and use a shortened version of the title for parenthetical citations.
Personal communications, such as e-mail messages to you, or private interviews that you conducted with another person, should not be cited in your reference list because they are not retrievable sources for anyone else. You should make reference to these sources in your in-text citations. (For more information, see page 214 of the Publication Manual.)
All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.
When referring to any work that is NOT a journal, such as a book, article, or Web page, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns. Do not capitalize the first letter of the second word in a hyphenated compound word.
Capitalize all major words in journal titles.
Italicize titles of longer works such as books and journals.
Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essays in edited collections.
Basic Forms for Sources in Print An article in a periodical (e.g., a journal, newspaper, or magazine)
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of periodical, volume number, pages.
NOTE: For a magazine or newspaper article, you need to include specific publication dates (month and day, if applicable) as well as the year. For a journal article, you do not need to include the month or day of publication. See our examples below for more explanations. NOTE:You need list only the volume number if the periodical uses continuous pagination throughout a particular volume. If each issue begins with page 1, then you should list the issue number as well:Title of Periodical, Volume number(Issue number), pages. Note that the issue number is not italicized. If the journal does not use volume numbers, use the month, season, or other designation within the year to designate the specific journal article. A nonperiodical (e.g., book, report, brochure, or audiovisual media)
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher.
NOTE:For "Location," you should always list the city, but you should also include the state if the city is unfamiliar or if the city could be confused with one in another state. Part of a nonperiodical (e.g., a book chapter or an article in a collection)
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.),Title of book(pages of chapter). Location: Publisher.
NOTE:When you list the pages of the chapter or essay in parentheses after the book title, use "pp." before the numbers: (pp. 1-21). This abbreviation, however, does not appear before the page numbers in periodical references. Basic Forms for Electronic (Internet) Sources Article in an Internet Periodical
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of journal, volume number(issue number if available). Retrieved month day, year, from http://Web address.
Nonperiodical Internet Document (e.g., a Web page or report)
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Retrieved month date, year, from http://Web address.
NOTE: When an Internet document is more than one Web page, provide a URL that links to the home page or entry page for the document. Also, if there isn't a date available for the document use (n.d.) for no date. Part of Nonperiodical Internet Document
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. In Title of book or larger document (chapter or section number). Retrieved from http://Web address.
Producer, P. P. (Producer), & Director, D.D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture[Motion picture]. Country of origin: Studio or distributor.
If a movie or video tape is not available in wide distribution, add the following to your citation after the country of origin: (Available from Distributor name, full address and zip code). A Television Broadcast or Television Series
Producer, P. P. (Producer). (Date of broadcast or copyright). Title of broadcast[Television broadcast or Television series]. City of origin: Studio or distributor.
A Single Episode of a Television Series
Writer, W. W. (Writer), & Director, D.D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of episode [Television series episode]. In P. Producer (Producer), Series Title. City of origin: Studio or distributor.
A music recording
Songwriter, W. W. (Date of copyright). Title of song [Recorded by artist if different from song writer]. On Title of album [Medium of recording]. Location: Label. (Recording date if different from copyright date)
For more about citing audiovisual media, see pages 266-269 of the Publication Manual. For information about citing legal sources in your reference list, see the Westfield State College page on Citing Legal Materials in APA Style. Examples ThePublication Manual of the American Psychological Association provides extensive examples covering a wide variety of potential sources on pages 239-281. Below are examples for some of the most commonly cited kinds of sources. If your particular source is not listed below, use the basic forms (above) to determine the correct format, check the Publication Manual, or consult the APA style website, especially their Frequently Asked Questions about APA Style and their coverage of electronic references. Our additional resources section also has some links to examples and resources. Journal article, one author
Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing psychology journal articles. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55, 893-896.
Journal article, three to six authors
Kernis, M. H., Cornell, D. P., Sun, C. R., Berry, A., & Harlow, T. (1993). There's more to self-esteem than whether it is high or low: The importance of stability of self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 1190-1204.
Journal article, more than six authors
Harris, M., Karper, E., Stacks, G., Hoffman, D., DeNiro, R., Cruz, P., et al. (2001). Writing labs and the Hollywood connection. Journal of Film and Writing, 44(3), 213-245.
NOTE: The phrase et al. stands for "and others." Work discussed in a secondary source
Coltheart, M., Curtis, B., Atkins, P., & Haller, M. (1993). Models of reading aloud: Dual-route and parallel-distributed-processing approaches. Psychological Review, 100, 589-608.
NOTE: Give the secondary source in the references list; in the text, name the original work, and give a citation for the secondary source. For example, if Seidenberg and McClelland's work is cited in Coltheart et al. and you did not read the original work, list the Coltheart et al. reference in the References. In the text, use the following citation:
In Seidenberg and McClelland's study (as cited in Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller, 1993), ...
Magazine article, one author
Henry, W. A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade in today's schools. Time, 135, 28-31.
Book
Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
An article or chapter of a book
O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and women's gender role journeys: Metaphor for healing, transition, and transformation. In B. R. Wainrib (Ed.), Gender issues across the life cycle (pp. 107-123). New York: Springer.
A government publication
National Institute of Mental Health. (1990). Clinical training in serious mental illness (DHHS Publication No. ADM 90-1679). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
A brochure
Research and Training Center on Independent Living. (1993). Guidelines for reporting and writing about people with disabilities (4th ed.) [Brochure]. Lawrence, KS: Author.
New drug appears to sharply cut risk of death from heart failure. (1993, July 15). The Washington Post, p. A12.
NOTE: For parenthetical citations of sources with no author named, use a shortened version of the title instead of an author's name. Use quotation marks and italics as appropriate. For example, parenthetical citations of the two sources above would appear as follows: (Merriam-Webster's, 1993) and ("New Drug," 1993). A translated work and/or a republished work
Laplace, P. S. (1951). A philosophical essay on probabilities (F. W. Truscott & F. L. Emory, Trans.). New York: Dover. (Original work published 1814)
NOTE:When you cite this work in text, it should appear with both dates: Laplace (1814/1951). A review of a book, film, television program, etc.
Baumeister, R. F. (1993). Exposing the self-knowledge myth [Review of the book The self-knower: A hero under control]. Contemporary Psychology, 38, 466-467.
An entry in an encyclopedia
Bergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The new encyclopedia britannica (Vol. 26, pp. 501-508). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.
A print journal or newspaper article retrieved from an online database When referencing material obtained from an online database (such as a database in the library), provide appropriate print citation information (formatted just like a "normal" print citation would be for that type of work). Then add information that gives the date of retrieval and the proper name of the database. This will allow people to retrieve the print version if they do not have access to the database from which you retrieved the article. You can also include the item number or accession number in parentheses at the end, but the APA manual says that this is not required. (For more about citing articles retrieved from electronic databases, see page 278 of the Publication Manual.)
Smyth, A. M., Parker, A. L.,& Pease, D. L. (2002). A study of enjoyment of peas. Journal of Abnormal Eating, 8(3). Retrieved February 20, 2003, from PsycARTICLES database.
An online journal article
Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the nature of human rights. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 8(4).Retrieved February 20, 2001, from http://www.cac.psu.edu/jbe/twocont.html
Chapter or section of an online document
The Foundation for a Better World. (2000). Pollution and banana cream pie. In Great chefs cook with chlorofluorocarbons and carbon monoxide (Chap. 3). Retrieved July 13, 2001, from http://www.bamm.com/cream/pollution/bananas.htm
NOTE: Use a chapter or section identifier and provide a URL that links directly to the chapter section, not the home page of the Web site. Message posted to an online newsgroup, forum, or discussion group
NOTE:If only the screen name is available for the author, then use the screen name; however, if the author provides a real name, use their real name instead. Be sure to provide the exact date of the posting. Follow the date with the subject line, the thread of the message (not in italics). Provide any identifiers in brackets after the title, as in other types of references. A Motion Picture or Video Tape with international or national availability
Smith, J.D. (Producer), & Smithee, A.F. (Director). (2001). Really Big Disaster Movie [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures.
A Motion Picture or Video Tape with limited availability
Harris, M. (Producer), & Turley, M. J. (Director). (2002). Writing Labs: A History [Motion picture]. (Available from Purdue University Pictures, 500 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907)
A Television Broadcast
Important, I.M. (Producer). (1990, November 1). The Nightly News Hour. [Television broadcast]. New York: Central Broadcasting Service.
Wendy, S. W. (Writer), & Martian, I.R. (Director). (1986). The rising angel and the falling ape. [Television series episode]. In D. Dude (Producer), Creatures and monsters.Los Angeles: Belarus Studios.
A music recording
Taupin, B. (1975). Someone saved my life tonight [Recorded by Elton John]. On Captain fantastic and the brown dirt cowboy [CD]. London: Big Pig Music Limited.
Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper/speech. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text.
Your references should begin on a separate page from the text of the speech outline under the label References (with no quotation marks, underlining, etc.), centered at the top of the page. It should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay.
Basic Rules
For example:
Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 7-10.
Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1994). Mood management across affective states: The hedonic contingency hypothesis. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 66, 1034-1048.
Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1995). Flexible correction processes in social judgment: The role of naive theories in corrections for perceived bias. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 68, 36-51.
For example:
Berndt, T. J., & Keefe, K. (1995). Friends' influence on adolescents' adjustment to school. Child Development, 66, 1312-1329.
For example:
Wegener, D. T., Petty, R. E., & Klein, D. J. (1994). Effects of mood on high elaboration attitude change: The mediating role of likelihood judgments. European Journal of Social Psychology, 24, 25-43.
For example:
Berndt, T. J. (1981b). Effects of friendship on prosocial intentions and behavior. Child Development, 52, 636-643.
- Use "&" instead of "and" when listing multiple authors of a single work.
- If no author is given for a particular source, begin with and alphabetize by using the title of the work, which will be listed in place of the author, and use a shortened version of the title for parenthetical citations.
- Personal communications, such as e-mail messages to you, or private interviews that you conducted with another person, should not be cited in your reference list because they are not retrievable sources for anyone else. You should make reference to these sources in your in-text citations. (For more information, see page 214 of the Publication Manual.)
- All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.
- When referring to any work that is NOT a journal, such as a book, article, or Web page, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns. Do not capitalize the first letter of the second word in a hyphenated compound word.
- Capitalize all major words in journal titles.
- Italicize titles of longer works such as books and journals.
- Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essays in edited collections.
Basic Forms for Sources in PrintWhen referring to these publications in your paper, use the letter suffixes with the year so that the reader knows which reference you are referring to. For example: "Several studies (Berndt, 1981a, 1981b) have shown that..."
An article in a periodical (e.g., a journal, newspaper, or magazine)
NOTE: You need list only the volume number if the periodical uses continuous pagination throughout a particular volume. If each issue begins with page 1, then you should list the issue number as well: Title of Periodical, Volume number(Issue number), pages. Note that the issue number is not italicized. If the journal does not use volume numbers, use the month, season, or other designation within the year to designate the specific journal article.
A nonperiodical (e.g., book, report, brochure, or audiovisual media)
Part of a nonperiodical (e.g., a book chapter or an article in a collection)
Basic Forms for Electronic (Internet) Sources
Article in an Internet Periodical
Part of Nonperiodical Internet Document
Basic Forms for Audiovisual Sources
A Motion Picture or Video Tape
A Television Broadcast or Television Series
Examples
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association provides extensive examples covering a wide variety of potential sources on pages 239-281. Below are examples for some of the most commonly cited kinds of sources. If your particular source is not listed below, use the basic forms (above) to determine the correct format, check the Publication Manual, or consult the APA style website, especially their Frequently Asked Questions about APA Style and their coverage of electronic references. Our additional resources section also has some links to examples and resources.
Journal article, one author
Work discussed in a secondary source
A translated work and/or a republished work
A review of a book, film, television program, etc.
When referencing material obtained from an online database (such as a database in the library), provide appropriate print citation information (formatted just like a "normal" print citation would be for that type of work). Then add information that gives the date of retrieval and the proper name of the database. This will allow people to retrieve the print version if they do not have access to the database from which you retrieved the article. You can also include the item number or accession number in parentheses at the end, but the APA manual says that this is not required. (For more about citing articles retrieved from electronic databases, see page 278 of the Publication Manual.)
An online journal article
Message posted to an online newsgroup, forum, or discussion group
A Motion Picture or Video Tape with international or national availability